


Mini Effects: Exercises in (Head) Canon

by King_City_Witch



Series: Mini Effects [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Crew bonding, Gen, Headcanon, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2018-01-11 01:43:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1167118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/King_City_Witch/pseuds/King_City_Witch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Like the world building Mini Effects, these will be short stories which will always involve at least one canon character. They're going to be about various headcanons and/or expanding on canon events in some way. Requests are accepted.  Male and Female Sheps, All Pairings, *Taking Requests Now*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Snow Day

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to submit requests. One liner, specific details or somewhere in between - I'll take them. Any pairings involving any characters from the three main games; male or female Shep. The only limit is there will not be non-con.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update: Edited this in a strange burst of inspiration to try and get writing again. 
> 
> Fem!Shep; personal headcanons  
> Dealing with Alchera and her lost ship and crew  
> Earth/Sole Survivor Background

The wind on Alchera was thick with ice and snow flurries, coating everything including Shepard in a layer of ice. The rocky and uneven terrain - Sol wondered if some of it wasn't due to the Normandy instead of the planet's climate and tectonic plates - was littered with metallic wreckage from her beloved ship. It had fallen two years ago, split in half like the ancient Titanic.  It was amazing as much of it that was on the surface had made it through the atmosphere after the attack by the colossal alien vessel.

"Even the Alliance left you here." She sighed to herself. Her comm was turned off so that no one except maybe EDI (and therefore Miranda, who was linked to every piece of tech on the new Normandy) could hear her. Sol didn't doubt she'd get emotional over this at all. Alchera was the graveyard of more than a ship, but more than half of her crew.  Both were equally painful even if she’d trade the ship a thousand times to get those men and women back alive.

She began this mission with a deep breath and a prayer for the fallen.  There were only twenty unaccounted for, but they were scattered and hidden under debris and snow.  Each time she found one, she read the name over and over until she could place the face and was certain it was memorized.  It wasn't difficult.  Years in the alliance meant having to learn the name of your new command and subordinates as soon as you began a new post.  She already knew these people, like she knew her team on Akuze. Like that team, she would remember their names even once their faces blurred together and recite them every time she reminded hrself why she fought as she did.

The mission was done with purpose, but not rushed.  She didn't run through the snow banks even when she saw the old CIC. Pressley's datapad was a pleasant surprise.  She'd realized eventually her XO was coming around on the alien issue in the little issues of ship life, but she hadn't thought he'd come around nearly that much. Those dog tags she didn't need to pause over.  They went straight into her pocket with a smile and blurry eyes.  That was the very last one.  The soldiers aboard the SR-1 were finally going home.  At least as much as they could.

The next step was getting the monument placed.  It was a ridiculous statue of the SR-1 in mid-flight, but it would appease the brass and future tourists.  Tourists... that part was an insult to this place.  The wreckage would be tidied up and plaques mounted. Something would be built to protect them from the weather, a gift shop for trinkets and a cafeteria to feed them.  People would visit to see the ship that defeated Saren's monstrosity - a Reaper, not a ship - and gawk at what it'd become at the hands of the "Geth".

"Hey old girl." Sol stared up the Mako, torn up in ways even Wrex and Garrus couldn't fix given all the eezo and alcohol in the universe.  It had flown through a mass relay, yet it was left in a boneyard to rust in the ice.  "I think the honor should be yours."

Shepard waved her omni tool and activated the pallet which would carry the statue from where the SR-2 had dropped it off to right in front of the Mako.  This would be the center of the Alliance's "tribute" to the Normandy.  Without that unruly tank, the war would have been over before it was even started.

 

\---

Back aboard the SR-2 Shepard was all business.  Suit and weapon dropped off at the armory, only the barest interaction with others as she passed – even Garrus who would understand her feelings.  Her only goal was to get up to her cabin to defrost and rest while she had the chance.  Then it'd be on to the next mission, the next fight, the next time she and her ground squad would save the asses of the defenseless or stupid (or both) and be the heroes the galaxy needed and hated in equal measure.  Sometimes, she really wanted to take Jack up on her suggestion of turning pirate.

On her way up, she stopped in on the bar Cerberus had installed. It was frivolous, completely out of place on a ship meant for fighting, but it was well stocked and useful tonight.  A bottle of whiskey from Earth was taken off the shelf and into the elevator.  She leaned against the wall and looked at the label to figure exactly where he might have seen the brand name before.  The name escaped her memory though, even when she opened the bottle and took a whiff before pouring a double shot in a glass.  That was another thing that grated on her nerves sometimes – a captain’s quarters fit for a rich man while her crew slept in bunk beds like stacked sardines.

"Fucking Cerberus."

"Commander, is everything all right?" EDI asked.  Her hologram popped up by the door.  Sol still thought she looked like a golf ball, but Miranda wouldn’t edit her design.

"Just fine EDI.  Anything to report?"

"The Alliance has been notified your mission was a success. The dog tags will be delivered to Councilman Anderson when we are next at the Citadel."

"Good.  Dismissed.  And EDI, leave me alone unless it's urgent.  Tell Kelly and Miranda that." As a second thought, "Especially Kelly."

"Understood Commander.  Logging you out."

"Because I logged in to begin with." Shepard rolled her eyes and gulped down her drink, enjoying the burn that warmed her core and leaning back on her couch.  In her mind, she recited the names of Marines who had died under her command, or alongside her in other fights.  The storm on Alchera continued on far below, covering the new golden statue in a layer of ice and blanket of snow.

 


	2. Day Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard decided to have a day off the ship after Project Overlord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited after a burst of inspiration. 
> 
> Still accepting requests. These headcanons don't have to be just mine.

Project Overlord was finished.  The brothers were separated, and Sol itched to just shoot the so called “scientist” that would subject his own brother to that. Especially when Miranda told her Cerberus was only going to reassign him instead of imprisoning him. But the brother was safe on his way to Grissom on a non-Cerberus ship where hopefully the damage done could be healed even if reversing it was impossible.  Planet side, Commander Shepard looked over the scenery from the main building to clear his mind.  She had wondered, from time to time, just how far she had wandered away from everything she'd learned as a soldier, from her sister and foster parents, if she was willing to work with Cerberus.

There was no doubt Cerberus had its good and evil people, just like the Alliance did.  She’d met many of them.  There was also no doubt that most parts of Cerberus made public were morally corrupted, and that was because they’d been caught.  The news wouldn’t report finding out about a good Cerberus facility because that would be boring.  But regardless of morals and ethics, or maybe even with them, corrupted as they were, there was only one way to destroy the collectors at this point.  The Alliance and Council had made their positions clear.

"EDI."

"Yes, Commander?"

"Tell the crew everyone gets shore leave the rest of the day." She ordered once she stepped back onto the ship. "Planet side access for the areas _without_ lava only."

"Message sent, Commander.  Anything else?"

"Do we have any sun screen?"

\---  
Chakwas did, in fact, have sun screen for all the crew even its alien members.  It did not however, protect Shepard from the burns she got from some of her crew.

"The middle of nowhere Shep?  What the fuck?" Jack yelled storming from the elevator.  Plus side: her biotics weren't sparking.  Much.

"You're getting leave and your own bottle of booze." Sol held up two, one golden color the other clear. She knew Jack had drunk both recently.  "Gin or tequila?"

"...fine. Gin." Shepard released the bottle when she grabbed it, and shot a smile at Kelly for the suggestion.  Probably not the best idea to liquor up a biotic with that many issues... But everyone would be off ship and the only locals were space cows.  Really shifty looking space cows.

"You had to pick the place with all the water, didn't you?" Garrus asked, walking up behind the commander.  It was a show of how much she trusted the turian that Shepard didn't even turn her head at the hand on his shoulder.

"Would you prefer the lava?  I made that rule because I don’t trust some people to stay out of it, but I could make an exception?"

"I'd prefer a bar on a nice station.  Or hell, a planet if you're feeling generous." The sniper quipped.

"There's an 'underlying issue' here."

"Quit quoting Chambers. And it’s not an issue.  Its evolution.  Turians don't do well with water."

"That is something we share then, Mr. Vakarian." Thane joined them, eyeing the picnic supplies Shepard and Gardner were organizing. "I was thinking of getting some sniping practice.  I saw a ledge which would make for a challenging sniper’s nest while we were on the mission, and Mr. Taylor has provided us some moving drones for targets.  Would you care to join us?"

"One question- how'd you see anything with Shepard's driving?"  Garrus and Krios shared a laugh, Garrus’ far less restrained than the assassin’s.

"Had to get that jab in, didn't you Vakarian?" Shepard rolled his eyes and gave a dirty look to his friend.  "Other than, you know, going fast and avoiding the turrets I didn't do that bad."

"True, we didn't go careening into a ravine or tumbling down a mountainside."

"Kasumi!" Shepard shouted, not knowing exactly where she was but knowing exactly where the tequila bottle had vanished when she wasn't looking "Show Garrus some of those poems of yours. I think he missed his true calling."

"No need to shout, Shep." The thief decloaked, leaning against the door to Miranda's office.  "Thanks for the day off by the way. Keiji and I loved sunny day picnics."

She paused and shrugged.  "Of course, we were always hiding somewhere shady.  Still."

"I hope I'll actually see you ground side, Ms. Goto." Thane nodded towards her and slapped a hand on Garrus' back.  "Shall I show you the spot?"  
\------------

Eventually the entire crew made its way planet side.  Some chose to take advantage of the waterfall and pool of clear water near where Shepard had decided to put the picnic food.  Thane, Garrus and Zaeed were off taking sniper practice; Jack and Jacob were having a biotics trick competition.  Jack was able to do more, longer but Jacob had creativity and a more detailed level of control. Tali was content to sit with her feet in the water and talk to the swimming crewmen, sipping at some Turian brandy Sol might have bought just for her.  Kasumi had vanished, occasionally popping out to startle someone or jokingly pull at Kelly's bathing suit top (she was the only one with an actual suit, but it was generous to call the strappy bit of fabric a suit).  Miranda and some other female crewmen had gone off somewhere to suntan - warning the men to stay away if they were just going to gawk.  Sol declined joining them, citing her Irish heritage as a very good reason to avoid deliberate tanning.

Instead, evener the commander, she was running around talking to everyone; taking in a little of each activity which is how she knew what everyone was up to.  She let Garrus win at target practice (she'd get him later), she'd let Kasum convince her to strip to a tank top and a borrowed pair of shorts (sun would be so healthy for healing skin, Shep!) and even broken the on going tie between Jack and Jacob (which went on to round five without her). All in all, a good day. Last, she stopped to take a breather with Joker and Samara at the lunch table. Gardner piled her plate high with food and thanked her for the chance to grill outdoors for a change.

"Hey Shep, not to complain or anything but I gotta know." Joker asked, lifting the brim of his hat to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

"Gift horse.  Mouth.  Pretty sure they don’t mix."

"Yeah yeah yeah. I hear you.  But come on, after what you saw in that lab, don't you want to get outta here?"

"I admit, Shepard, I am quite curious as well.  It was not a pleasant experience, even if we have the satisfaction of helping that poor boy." Samara chimed in as she sat gracefully even on rigid bench and table stolen from mess.

"Virmire was beautiful." She shrugged.

"Yeah... I mean, besides the lab.  Again.  There’s probably a pattern there." The pilot mused.

"And every time I think about Virmire, I think about Kaidan.  About leaving him with that bomb.  And then the planet doesn't look so pretty anymore." Shepard explained.  "I'm sick of beautiful places becoming ugly because of a bad memory.  I just want some good ones for here."

The three looked over at their comrades lounging around the water. Samara nodded and smiled in silent agreement, returning to her meal.  Joker let out a short laugh before looking over at the commander again.

"You're weird Shepard.  But you're right." After a pause he added snidely "Why do you always have to be right?"

"Because I'm the commander.  And this is my favorite crew in the galaxy."


End file.
